When I first saw this photograph, I knew it was by an Indian photographer. The overwhelming presence of the pattern, the unselfconscious stare of the woman cleaning her teeth, the angle - these were not things you would expect from a European photographer. The compression of planes reminded me of Matisse and the Japanese prints that inspired him.

A second four-by-six inch albumen photograph showed the same woman with an older lady, perhaps her grandmother. She might be brushing her hair or, as was common, removing lice. Again the angle is looking down at a lower caste. The objects are pressed together by the composition. (The captions are translated from the handwriting of a onetime German owner.)

I bought the photographs. They have remained among my favorites for many years. But I could not be sure who the photographer was.

Ten years later, at a London vintage paper fair, I came upon this postcard. It shows the same young woman. It was published by K. Lall & Co. in Agra, most probably the photographer.

The real photo postcard is from about the 1920s. Without the albumen shots, one might not know that the pictures were probably shot some years earlier.

Now I'd love to know all about K. Lall & Co.